WTAE Airs Wrong Lottery Numbers

Pittsburgh ABC-affiliate WTAE mistakenly aired the wrong Powerball numbers at the end of its 11 p.m. newscast on Wednesday.

WTAE, which has been airing the national Powerball drawing since 2009, replayed the taped drawing from February 22nd on the 29th.

“It was a playback misfire…a mechanical issue,” WTAE president and general manager Mike Hayes told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this week. “It was caught in master control after it ran.”

Hayes told the Tribune that about 10 viewers called in about the mix-up. Thankfully it appears that no one watching WTAE had a “winning” ticket this week based on the old numbers.

WTAE aired the correct Powerball numbers on Thursday.

The Powerball drawing is taped in Florida and then distributed to stations around the country. In the video that WTAE aired on the 29th, the date of the 22nd appears in small print underneath the winning numbers.